Variation in drivers' cognitive load. Effects of driving through village areas and rural junctions

Harms, Lisbeth · 1991 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1080/00140139108967303

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Summary

This study investigates whether variations in traffic environments induce measurable changes in drivers' cognitive load, specifically comparing highway driving with driving through village areas and rural junctions. The research is motivated by the theoretical distinction between automatic and controlled information processing. While driving skills often become automatic through practice, the variability of real-world traffic environments likely requires controlled, capacity-limited processing. The study aims to validate a dual-task method for measuring these cognitive demands and to determine if complex environments increase cognitive load even when driving speeds are reduced. The research comprised two experiments using a dual-task paradigm where drivers performed mental calculation tasks while driving. Cognitive load was measured by the time taken to complete subtraction tasks presented via headphones. Experiment 1 involved 19 professional drivers on two routes containing both highway and village sections. Experiment 2 involved 14 non-professional drivers navigating two rural junctions. In both experiments, driving speed and calculation times were recorded in small intervals (2–6 meters in Experiment 1; 50 meters in Experiment 2) to correlate specific road positions with cognitive performance. The results demonstrated a consistent inverse relationship between driving speed and cognitive load. In Experiment 1, drivers exhibited significantly lower speeds and higher calculation times (indicating higher cognitive load) in village areas compared to adjacent highway sections. This pattern held true across successive 100-meter intervals, with cognitive load peaking in the central parts of villages where speed was lowest. Experiment 2 confirmed these findings at rural junctions: driving speed decreased as drivers approached the give-way line, while cognitive load increased significantly in the intervals immediately preceding and including the junction. Additionally, left-turn maneuvers at junctions resulted in higher cognitive loads than right-turns or straight-through passages, although this effect was less consistent across individual drives. The study concludes that the dual-task method is sensitive to variations in cognitive load caused by environmental demands. Crucially, it finds that complex traffic environments, such as villages and junctions, impose high cognitive loads on drivers regardless of speed reductions. This suggests that lowering speed does not fully compensate for the increased processing demands of complex environments. The findings imply that cognitive load is a significant factor in driving safety, as high load correlates with accident-prone areas, and highlight the utility of dual-task methods for assessing the ergonomic impact of road design.

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Topics

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• mental demand
• road complexity
• cognitive capacity variation
• urban rural setting
• traffic density

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: behavioral performance data
• Theoretical Contribution: theory or model